HISTORY 

OF  THE 

GREAT   IRON  CHAIN, 


LAID  ACROSS  THE  HUDSON  RIVER 
AT  WEST  POINT  IN  1778,  BY  ORDER  OF 
....GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  ... 


On  exhibition  at  the  Military  War  Museum,  579  Broadway,  New  York, 
FRANCIS  BANNERMAN. 


DESK  WEIGHT  MADE  FROM  THE  CHAIN. 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


2Ex  iCibrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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HISTORY 

OF  THE  IRON  CHAIN  LAID  ACROSS  THE  HUDSON 
RIVER  AT  WEST  POINT. 


DURING  the  war  of  the  Revolution  the  British  made  constant 
efforts  to  gain  control  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  thus  open  a 
water-way  between  Canada  and  their  forces  in  New  York,  by 
means  of  the  Hudson,  Lake  Champlain  and  the  St.  Lawrence. 

So  far,  every  effort  made  by  them  had  failed — Burgoyne's 
magnificent  army  had  met  with  two  defeats ;  its  foragers  cut  off  at 
Bennington,  and  its  veterans  annihilated  at  Saratoga. 

In  1780  there  opened  before  Sir  Henry  Clinton  a  fairer  pros- 
pect of  success  than  ever  before — not  by  meeting  the  Americans 
on  the  battle-field,  but  by  the  treason  of  one  of  their  trusted  officers, 
Benedict  Arnold.  The  man  who  had  fought  so  gallantly  at  Sara- 
toga now  condescended,  through  wounded  vanity  and  revenge,  to 
betray  his  country.  He  sought  from  Washington  the  post  of 
Commander  at  West  Point,  pleading  his  inability,  on  account  of 
wounds,  for  active  service — but,  in  reality,  tnat  he  might  give  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  the  Commander  in  New  York,  an  opportunity  to 
effect  the  plan  so  ardently  desired  by  the  British. 

Arnold  had  been  Court-martialled  for  various  derelictions  of 
duty,  and  had  received  a  sentence,  that  of  reprimand  from  the 
Commander-in-Chief.  This  had  been  given  in  as  mild  terms  as 
possible,  for  Washington  had  always  favored  Arnold,  and  com- 
mended his  military  genius.  From  this  moment  Arnold  was  a 
traitor,  and  opened  correspondence,  by  secret  means,  with  the 
enemy  in  New  York.  How  nearly  successful  was  this  treasom  all 
readers  of  history  know ;  but  what  means  of  defense  our  forces  at 
West  Point  possessed,  and  how  the  river  was  guarded,  may  not  be 
so  clear  in  the  minds  of  all ;  so,  with  your  permission,  we  will  relate 
a  bit  of  history. 

West  Point  was  already  a  depot  for  military  stores,  powder 
and  ammunition,  and  there  were  forts  on  either  side  which  guarded 
the  river. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  war  General  Washington  had  foreseen 
that  other  defenses  were  necessary,  and  ordered  the  forging  of 
chains,  which,  placed  under  the  waters,  should  effectually  bar  the 
passage  of  the  enemy's  fleet.  As  early  as  1776  an  immense  chain, 
which  had  been  used  to  obstruct  the  river  Sorel,  was  brought  from 
Lake  Champlain,  but  was  not  of  sufficient  length  to  cross  the 
Hudson  ;  so,  from  iron  ore  found  at  Livingston  Manor,  another  chain 
was  forged  at  Poughkeepsie.  This  chain,  completed  in  the  same 
year,  and  stretched  between  Fort  Montgomery  and  Anthony's  Nose, 
was  unfortunate  from  the  first.  A  week  after  it  was  laid  down  its 
links  parted.  and?  though  rescued  and  strengthened,  it  was  de- 


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stroyed  by  the  British  when,  in  1777,  they  gained  control  of  the 
river  above  the  Highlands.  General  Washington  never  relinquished 
the  plan  of  thus  obstructing  the  Hudson,  and  determined  to  look 
for  more  suitable  points  where  chains  might  be  placed.  West 
Point,  where  the  course  of  the  river  abruptly  changed,  and  where 
the  speed  of  vessels  was  lessened  by  heavy  tides,  was,  in  General 
Washington's  opinion,  the  most  favorable  spot  for  the  purpose. 
The  river  here  was  300  feet  narrower  than  at  Fort  Montgomery, 
where  the  first  obstruction  had  been  placed. 

After  consultation  with  officers  and  engineers  of  the  army  and 
the  government  of  New  York,  West  Point  was  strongly  fortified, 
and  it  was  decided  that  a  chain  should  be  made  of  sufficient  length 
to  stretch  from  this  point  to  Constitution  Island.  Bids  were  offered 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  chain,  and  that  of  the  Sterling  Iron 
Works  was  accepted.  This  decision  was  made  known  to  Peter 
Townsend,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Sterling  Iron  Works,  by 
Timothy  Pickering,  who  reached  his  house  late  on  a  Saturday  night, 
March,  1778.  It  was  snowing  hard,  but  the  times  admitted  of  no 
delay,  and  amid  the  darkness  of  the  night  the  party  set  out  for  the 
furnaces.  At  daylight  on  Sunday  morning  the  forges  were  in 
operation,  and  in  six  weeks  the  work  was  done. 

Peter  Townsend  was  a  Quaker,  so  could  not  bear  arms ;  but, 
being  a  true  patriot,  was  glad  to  avail  himself  of  this  peaceful  way 
of  assisting  the  cause  of  liberty. 

We  scarcely  realize  what  labor  the  forging  of  this  chain  in- 
volved. There  was  no  machinery  and  no  skilled  labor  at  hand. 
Welsh  miners  were  brought  from  Pennsylvania  to  do  the  work  ; 
and  Connecticut  men,  with  their  ox-teams,  carried  the  links  over 
the  rough  and  unbroken  mountain  roads,  cut  through  the  forest  to 
New  Windsor,  the  nearest  point  on  the  river.  Here,  under  the 
superintendence  of  an  engineer,  they  were  fastened  together  and 
fixed  on  Moats,  and  by  this  means  were  sent  down  the  river  to 
West  Point. 

We  may  have  some  idea  of  the  immense  undertaking  when  we 
consider  that  each  link  weighed  300  pounds,  was  more  than  two 
feet  long,  and  y4  inches  square.  Each  100  feet  was  secured  by  a 
swivel,  and  there  was  a  clevis  to  every  1,000  feet.  The  whole  weighed 
165  tons.  With  it  were  delivered  12  tons  of  anchors,  which  were 
used  to  keep  it  firm  when  moored.  In  addition  to  these  anchors 
the  chain,  which,  we  must  remember,  was  stretched  from  West 
Point  to  Constitution  Island,  was  buoyed  up  by  large  logs  16  feet 
in  length — a  little  pointed  at  the  end  to  better  resist  the  tide. 

This  chain  was  never  broken  through  by  the  British,  but  it 
was  no  fault  of  the  traitor  Arnold  that  it  was  not,  for  he  removed 
one  of  the  links,  on  pretense  of  making  repairs,  so  that  the  enemy's 
fleet  might  easily  sail  up  the  river.  Truly,  man  proposes,  but  God 
disposes. 

A  greater  part  of  the  chain  now  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the 


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Hudson.  It  is  said  that  about  30  tons  have  been  recovered  and 
are  in  the  possession  of  historical  and  patriotic  societies.  At  West 
Point  there  are  at  least  13  links  with  a  staple,  placed  at  what  is 
called  the  "Chain  Battery,"  near  the  spot  where  the  chain  was 
stretched  across  the  river.  Upon  it  is  a  plate  giving  the  date 
and  place  of  manufacture,  and  in  the  Library  at  the  Point  is  a  paper 
written  by  Peter  Townsend  with  more  particulars  of  the  forging. 

There  is  a  family  tradition  that  Peter  Townsend  died  before 
the  chain  was  finished,  and  that  his  wife  Hannah  Townsend, 
completed  the  work,  thus  filling  the  contract  made  with  the 
government.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  certainly  do  know  that 
Hannah  Townsend  was  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character 
and  ability.  Having  no  brothers,  her  father  gave  her  the  business 
education  usually  acquired  by  the  sons — an  education  very  rare  for 
a  woman  of  that  time.  Thus  upon  the  death  of  her  husband  she 
was  not  only  competent  to  assume  all  his  business  responsibilities, 
but  also  to  oversee  the  large  number  of  miners,  teamsters  and 
forgers — a  lawless  set,  employed  in  mining  and  transporting  the 
ore  to  the  furnaces.  Each  morning,  after  putting  her  own  house  in 
running  order,  she  rode  from  her  home  in  Chester  on  horseback, 
following  the  rugged  and  lonely  bridle-path  to  the  forges.  Here 
she  spent  the  day,  superintending  che  workmen,  keeping  the  books 
and  attending  to  all  matters  incident  to  a  large  business  enterprise. 

The  Sterling  Iron  Works,  were  established  by  Lord  Sterling, 
a  Revolutionary  General,  in  1751,  and  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years  continued  in  operation.  Not  many  years  have  elapsed  since 
the  fires  in  these  furnaces  were  finally  extinguished.  The  iron 
mountain,  with  its  rich  bed  of  ore,  has  passed  into  the  possession 
of  others.  The  old  forge  is  now  within  the  domain  of  Tuxedo 
Park,  the  luxurious  and  autumnal  home  of  wealthy  and  fashion- 
able New  Yorkers.  We  doubt  if  many  recall  the  eventful  days 
when  the  beautiful  mountain  scenery  witnessed  other  and  more 
stirring  scenes,  and  in  fancy  only  we  seek  Hannah  Townsend, 
travelling  the  lonely  path  to  the  forge,  or  hear  the  creaking  wheels 
of  the  ox-cart,  as  the  heavy  links  of  the  chain  are  la  oriously  trans- 
ported to  the  riverside. 

In  the  Artillery  Laboratory  at  West  Point  is  deposited  a 
portion  of  the  famous  chain  stretched  across  the  river  (Hudson)  in 
1776,  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  enemy's  vessels. 

There  are  12  links,  two  clevises  or  swivels,  and  a  portion  of  a 
link.  These  links  are  made  of  iron  bars  2^  inches  square,  are 
each  about  two  feet  in  length,  and  weigh  about  140  pounds  each. 

It  was  fixed  to  huge  blocks  on  each  shore,  under  cover  of 
batteries  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  the  remains  of  which  are  still 
visible. 

It  was  buoyed  up  by  very  large  logs,  about  16  feet  long, 
pointed  at  both  ends.  The  logs  wrere  placed  at  short  distance 
apart ;  the  chain  carried  over  them,  and  made  fast  by  staples  ;  and 


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anchors  were  dropped  at  proper  distances,  and  made  fast  to  the 
logs  and  chain. 

On  the  1 8th  of  November,  1775,  Congress  was  occupied  in 
providing  for  the  fortification  of  West  Point.  Operations  com- 
menced on  the  29th  of  August,  1776,  and  its  outworks  built. 

In  January,  1778,  a  Committee  of  the  New  York  Legislature 
recommended  that  additional  works  should  be  erected  at  West 
Point,  and  Kusiosko  was  appointed  to  carry  out  and  superintend 
the  same. 

In  addition  to  the  batteries  upon  the  hilltops  the  river  was  ob- 
structed by  an  enormous  chain  of  iron. 

The  iron  of  the  chain  was  wrought  from  ore  of  equal  parts 
from  the  Sterling  and  Long  mines  in  Orange  County,  New  York. 

The  chain  was  made  by  the  firm  of  Noble  and  Townsend, 
consisting  of  Abel  Noble  and  Peter  Townsend,  at  the  Sterling  Iron 
Works,  situated  about  twenty-five  miles  from  West  Point. 

The  Sterling  works  were  established  by  a  "  Lord  "  Sterling  in 
1851.  Sterling  was  an  Englishman  who  had  purchased  his  patent 
of  nobility,  which,  however,  carried  with  it  no  estate  in  England. 
Shortly  after  he  arrived  in  this  country  he  purchased  this  tract  of 
land,  which  bears  his  name.  This  afterwards  became  the  property 
of  Mr.  Abel  Noble,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  erected  larger  and  more 
modern  works.  Mr.  Noble  had  married  the  niece  of  Peter  Town- 
send,  and  they  became  associated  in  business  under  the  name  of 
Noble  and  Townsend. 

Mr.  Noble,  on  retiring  from  business  to  private  life,  sold  the 
Sterling  tract  to  Mr.  Peter  Townsend,  and  it  has  remained  in  the 
Townsend  family  until  within  a  few  years,  belonging  now  to  the 
Sterling  Mountain  Railway  and  Iron  Co. 

Mr.  Noble  resided  at  Sterling  until  his  retirement  from  busi- 
ness, when  he  purchased  the  Bellevale  property  and  resided  there 
till  his  death. 

Mr.  Peter  Townsend  resided  at  Chester.  The  house  remained 
without  alteration  until  within  about  fifteen  years.  He  died  there, 
and  is  buried  in  the  plot  on  the  place,  as  is  also  his -wife,  who  was 
Hannah  Hauxhurst,  daughter  of  William  Hauxhurst,  an  iron 
merchant  in  New  York. 

In  a  violent  snow-storm,  late  at  night,  Col.  Timothy  Peckering 
and  Captain  Machin  arrived  at  Mr.  Peter  Townsend's  house  in 
Chester,  on  a  Saturday,  when  a  contract  was  entered  into  between 
Noble  and  Townsend  and  Capt.  Machin,  Deputy-Quartermaster 
General,  for  the  manufacture  of  the  chain,  and  its  delivery  at  West 
Point.  The  original  of  the  contract  is  preserved  among  the 
"Clinton  Papers,"  in  the  New  York  State  Library,  Albany. 

So  great  was  the  emergency  thought  to  be  that  Col.  Pickering 
and  Capt.  Machin  set  out  late  that  night,  in  the  snow-storm,  for 
Sterling;  and  at  day-light  on  Sunday  morning  the  forges  were  in 
operation.    As  fast  as  the  links  were  made,  they  were  taken  to 


5 

West  Point  by  the  teams  of  the  farmers  in  the  neighborhood ;  and 
within  a  period  of  six  weeks  the  whole  chain  was  finished.  It 
weighed  180  tons. 

When  Arnold  was  arranging  his  plans  for  the  delivery  of  West 
Point  to  the  British  the  chain  became  a  special  object  of  his  atten- 
tion. A  few  days  before  the  discovery  of  his  treason  he  wrote  to 
Andre,  informing  him  that  he  had  weakened  the  obstruction  in  the 
river  by  ordering  a  link  of  the  chain  to  be  taken  out  and  carried  to 
a  smithy,  under  the  pretense  that  it  needed  repairs.  He  assured 
him  that  the  link  would  not  be  replaced  until  the  forts  should  be  in 
possession  of  the  British.  The  chain  answered  its  purpose,  and 
was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  main  obstacles  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton's 
attempt  to  relieve  Burgoyne  by  an  advance  up  the  Hudson  River. 

COPY  OF  CONTRACT 
FOR  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  IRON  CHAIN 
LAID  ACROSS  THE  HUDSON  RIVER 
AT  WEST  POINT, 
1778. 

By  Noble,  Townsend  and  Company,  Sterling  Iron 
Works,  Orange  County,  New  York. 

This  original  agreement  or  contract  of  Noble,  and  Townsend, 
for  the  construction  of  the  great  chain  stretched  across  the  Hudson 
River  at  West  Point  on  April  30th,  1778,  ;is  deposited  with  the 
Clinton  Papers,  in  the  New  York  State  Library,  at  Albany,  New 
York. 

Article  of  Agreeme7it  between  Noble,  Townsend  &  Co.,  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Sterling  Iron  Works,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  of 
the  one  part,  and  Hugh  Hughes,  Deputy  Quarter  Master  General 
to  the  Army  of  the  United  States  of  the  other  part; 

Witriesseth: — That  the  said  Noble  Townsend  &  Co.,  jointly 
and  severally,  engage  to  have  made  and  ready  to  deliver  at  their 
works,  to  the  said  Hugh  Hughes,  D.  Q.  M.  G.,  or  to  the  D.  O.  M.  G. 
of  the  Middle  Department  for  the  time  being,  on  or  before  the  first 
clay  of  April  next  ensuing  the  date  hereof,  or  as  much  sooner  as 
circumstances  will  admit,  an  Iron  Chain,  of  the  following  dimen- 
sions and  quality  that  is,  in  length  five  hundred  yards,  each  link 
about  two  feet  long,  to  be  made  of  the  best  Sterling  Iron,  two 
inches  and  one  quarter  square,  or  as  near  thereto  as  possible,  with 
a  swivel  to  every  hundred  feet,  and  a  clevis  to  every  thousand  feet, 
in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  former  chain. 

The  said  Noble,  Townsend  &  Co.  also  engage  to  have  made, 
and  ready  to  be  delivered,  at  least  twelve  tons  of  anchors  of  the 
aforesaid  Iron,  and  of  such  size  as  the  said  Hugh  Hughes,  or  his 
successors  in  office,  shall  direct  in  writing,  as  soon  as  the  com- 
pletion of  the  chain  will  admit. 


In  consideration  of  which,  the  said  Hugh  Hughes,  in  behalf  of 
the  United  States,  agrees  to  pay  to  the  said  Noble,  Townsend  & 
Co  Four  hundred  and  forty  pounds  for  every  ton  weight  of  chain 
and  anchors  delivered  as  before  mentioned,  unless  the  General 
Regulations  on  Trade,  Provisions,  etc.,  which  are  now  supposed  to 
be  framed  by  Deputies  from  the  United  States,  shall  be  published 
and  tak<*  effect  before  the  expiration  of  four  months  from  the  date 
of  this,  in  which  case  the  price  is  to  be  only  four  hundred  pounds 
per  ton,  for  the  said  chain  and  anchors. 

The  payment,  if  demanded,  to  be  made  in  such  proportion  as 
the  work  is  ready  to  be  delivered,  which  shall  be  determined  in  ten 
days  after  requisition,  by  a  number  of  competent  Judges,  not  less 
than  three  nor  more  than  five,  unconcerned  with  the  Proprietors,  or 
the  works,  and  if  condemned,  to  be  completed  at  the  expense  of 
said  Company,  who  are  also  to  repair,  as  aforesaid,  all  failures  of 
their  work,  when  happening,  whether  at  the  works  or  at  the  river. 

The  said  Hugh  Hughes  also  engages  to  procure  of  the  Gover- 
nor of  this  state,  for  the  said  Noble,  Townsend  &  Co.,  an  exemption 
for  nine  months  from  the  date  hereof,  from  military  duty,  for  sixty 
artificers  that  are  steadily  employed  at  said  chain  and  anchors,  till 
completed.  , .  _  .  . 

Agreeable  to  said  exemption,  the  said  Company,  complying 
with  the  terms  thereof:  Providing  also,  that  the  said  Company  give 
the  said  Hughes,  or  his  successors  in  office,  the  Refusal,  by  letter, 
of  all  the  Bar  Iron,  anchors,  etc.,  made  at  the  said  works,  in  the 
said  term  of  nine  months,  at  the  current  price,  unless  what  is 
necessary  to  exchange  for  clothing  and  other  articles  for  the  use  of 

the  Wor  ^  ed  bv  the  saici  parties,  that  if  the  teams  of  the 
Company  haul  the  said  chain  or  anchors,  or  any  part  thereof,  to 
anv  assigned  Post,  they  shall  receive  for  such  services  the  same 
pav  as  shall  be  given  by  the  United  States  for  the  like;  the  teams 
of 'said  Conpany  being  exempted  from  impress  by  any  of  the 
Quarter  Master  General's  Deputies,  during  the  space  of  nine  months. 

Lastly  the  said  Company  engage  to  use  their  utmost  endeavors 
to  keep  seven  fires  at  forging,  and  ten  at  welding,  if  assisted  with 
such  hands,  as  are  necessary  and  can  be  spared  from  the  Army,  in 
case  of  their  not  being  able  to  procure  others,  the  said  Company 
making  deductions  for  their  labor. 

In  witness  whereof  the  Parties  have  interchangeably  subscribed 
their  names  this  second  day  of  February.  One  thousand  Seven 
hundred  and  Seventy-eight,  and  in  the  second  year  of  American 

Independence.  _ 

F  (Signed)      Peter  Townsend. 

In  behalf  of  Noble  and  Company. 
(Signed)      Hugh  Hughes, 
In  presence  of  In  behalf  of  the  United  States. 

(Signed)    P.  Tillinghast. 


7 


"By  direction  of  General  Putnam,  Hugh  Hughes,  Deputy 
Quarter  Master  General,  visited  the  Sterling  Iron  Works  of  Noble, 
Townsend  &  Company,  on  the  2nd  of  February,  and  entered  into 
a  contract  with  the  Proprietors  to  construct  a  chain." 

Ruttembcr  s  History  Hudson  River  Obstructions. 

Scott's  Tavern,  23d  April,  1778. 
Sir\ — I  am  jurst  Now  from  Nobels,  at  Sterling.  The  Chane 
is  going  on  fast,  But  the  Anchors  (not)  owing  (They  Say)  to  your 
not  sending  the  Wate  of  Them.  I  hope  you  will  forward  your 
instructions  on  Receipt  of  This,  as  there  Cant  be  anything  Don  Till 
you  send  the  Wate  of  such  pertickerler  Anchor. 

I  am  in  Hast. 

Wm.  Hauxhurst. 

To  Cp.  Machen,  Indian  Eare. 

This  chain  lay  stored  at  West  Point  until  the  Great  Sanitary 
Fair  of  the  Civil  War  held  in  New  York  City,  when  it  was  sent  to 
N.  Y.  to  add  to  the  attraction  of  the  fair— with  the  understanding 
that  it  was  to  be  returned  to  the  Government  reservation  at  West 
Point  after  the  close  of  the  fair.  The  managers,  however,  found  it 
to  be  much  cheaper  to  send  it  over  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  in- 
stead of  back  to  West  Point.  Its  great  weight  and  length  of  18 
links  to  each  shot,  weighing  5,600  pounds,  made  it  a  very  difficult 
matter  to  handie,  necessitating  large  windlass  trucks  with  tackle, 
such  as  are  used  in  moving  heavy  machinery. 

At  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  it  lay  from  Civil  War  days  until 
1887,  when  the  U.  S.  Navy  Department  began  to  consolidate 
the  different  bureaus  under  one  head  called  The  General  Store- 
keepers Department.  In  order  to  make  this  change  a  Board  of 
Naval  Officers  was  appointed,  Commander  R.  W.  Meade  being 
President  with  authority  to  visit  all  Navy  Yards  to  examine  all 
stores  and  any  thing  not  in  use  or  fit  for  Naval  service  was  to  be 
condemned  and  sold  at  Public  Auction.  In  due  time  this  Board 
found  this  old  chain  and  without  either  knowing  the  history  or 
having  any  appreciation  for  such  a  valuable  relic,  ordered  it  sold  at 
auction,  September]  4,  1887.  W.  J.  Bannerman  &  Co.  were  the 
buyers — who  in  turn  sold  the  chain  along  with  a  lot  of  other  scrap 
iron  to  a  forge  company  for  to  be  worked  over  into  new  iron. 
Shortly  after  the  disposal  of  the  chain  Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther  of 
Chicago  began  to  fit  up  the  Libby  Prison  Museum  and  was  looking 
around  for  relics  and  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  M.  F.  Savage,  the  noted 
authority  on  such  goods  began  to  trace  up  the  whereabouts  of  the 
chain.  Their  search  reached  the  ears  of  Mr.  John  C.  Abbey,  buyer 
at  Government  Auctions,  who  promptly  purchased  the  chain  from 
the  forge  company.  For  about  10  years  Mr.  Abbey  controlled 
the  chain,  selling  some  of  the  links  to  collectors.  Lately, 
Francis  Bannerman  of  579  Broadway,  N.       purchased  the  chain 


8 


and  is  now  offering  it  made  up  into  desk  weights.  A  cross  section 
%  to  inches  thick  planed  and  polished,  surmounted  with 
a  small  \%  inch  Civil  War  Canister  Shot  as  handle.  The  desk 
weight  is  stamped,  "Section  of  chain  used  by  General  Geo.  Wash- 
ington, West  Point,  N.  Y.,  1778." 

These  handsome  souvenirs  are  sold  with  this  booklet  for  $2.75. 

Mr.  Bannerman  has  sold  8  links  of  the  chain  to  Mr.  Peter 
Townsend,  one  of  the  descendants,  also  2  links  to  Mr.  Davis  of 
Danbury,  Conn.,  and  one  link  to  Mr.  J.  T.  Davis  of  Allegheny,  Pa., 
one  of  the  descendants,  who,  strange  to  say,  is  still  in  the  chain 
business. 

These  Desk  Weights  and  links  of  this  chain  can  be  seen 
at  Mr.  Bannerman's  War  Relic  Museum  579  Broadway,  N.  Y. 
City. 

Mr.  E.  J.  Searles  of  Methuen,  Mass.,  has  purchased  the 
balance,  some  13  links,  which  he  intends  to  use  to  ornament  his 
celebrated  Washington  Statue  at  Methuen,  Mass. 

Ex-Mayor  Hewitt  became  interested,  as  he  is  the  present 
owner  of  the  iron  mine  near  the  Sterling  mines  from  which  the 
ore  came  which  went  into  the  chain.  At  Tuxedo  is  the  old  forge, 
then  owned  by  Robert  Townsend,  great-grand-father  of  Assistant 
District  Attorney  Townsend,  where  the  chain  was  made.  Young 
Mr.  Townsend  recently  purchased  a  number  of  the  links. 

It  appears  that  the  chain  was  not  passed  by  the  enemy,  as  was 
the  one  stretched  across  Fort  Montgomery  and  Anthony's  Nose  in 
1776.  That  was  swept  away  twice  by  the  river  currents,  and  a 
third  one  was  destroyed  by  the  British  in  1777,  who  went  then  as 
far  up  the  river  as  Kingston.  The  West  Point  chain  was  much 
heavier  than  the  one  used  at  Fort  Montgomery. 


Lately  having  had  inquiries  from  Revolutionary  War  Societies 
for  GAVELS  made  from  real  revolutionary  war  relics  we  have 
now  in  preparation  HISTORIC  GAVEL.  The  head  or  hammer 
part  made  from  piece  of  the  chain  and  the  handle  from  the  Oak 
Bowstem  of  the  British  Powdership  "  Morning  Star"  which  was 
blown  up  in  New  York  harbor  during  the  revolutionary  war,  the 
remains  of  which  was  found  in  1896  when  excavating  near  the 
Battery.  The  handle  will  be  about  seven  inches  long,  turned  and 
polished.  The  head  about  two  inches  long,  \%  inches  in  diameter 
hexagonal  shaped.  The  price  will  be  $2o.00,  only  a  few  of  which 
pan  be  furnished. 


